Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly clashed with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday over Trump’s new global tariffs. The heated exchange happened during a segment on “Cuomo.”
Trump’s new plan involves slapping reciprocal tariffs on countries taxing U.S. imports. His goal? Bring manufacturing back to American soil. O’Reilly says that means jobs — and long-term gains for the U.S. economy.
“Let’s go to Bernie Sanders, let’s go to the income inequality crew, why do you think there’s so much income inequality?” O’Reilly said. “Because the high paying union manufacturing jobs went overseas and were replaced by service jobs that don’t pay as much or public service or whatever. So what Trump clearly said is ‘I’m gonna bring back those manufacturing jobs, people are gonna invest in those plants in America. That’s gonna heighten the potential to earn money by Americans.”
Cuomo wasn’t having it. He pushed back, calling O’Reilly’s argument shaky. “But that’s highly speculative,” he said.
“First of all, most of the jobs we lost … no, it’s not a plan. It’s a guess, and here’s why it’s not a plan, it’s a guess. Here’s why it’s a guess what you call a plan. You don’t know that these tariffs will make people come back for two reasons. One, time. Okay? It takes a long time to repatriate. Two, even if they have to absorb the tariff, the cost structure is still way in their favor, especially when you don’t make them pay any taxes. Three, the number one reason that we lost jobs here wasn’t even just because of cheap labor, it was innovation. And innovation has only increased in manufacturing, meaning that there wouldn’t be as many jobs anyway.”
“That’s just bull,” O’Reilly fired back.
He pointed to companies like Apple already reacting to Trump’s policies. O’Reilly said Trump’s impact on industry is real and measurable.
Apple announced a $500 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing. The tech giant plans to hire 20,000 American workers in the next four years.
Union workers in auto and steel are backing Trump’s move. On Fox Business, they praised the tariffs, saying they believe it’ll bring jobs back home.